Marshals to Wardens pt2 of 16
by nightingale3
Summary: Continuation of part one. please read and review, all reviews welcomed.


Marshals to Wardens  
pt2  
  
Within four days, Hassuel and Lemen-ere arrived in Edoras. One of the kings' gaurds was at the doors of Meduseld awaiting Hassuels arrival. The marshal and his elven escort pulled their steeds up to the steps of the Golden Hall and dismounted very quickly. Hassuel approached the royal gaurdsman, who was looking at the elves that stood not far behind the marshal. Lemen glanced around and took in other eyes looking at him with interest. The captain of the elven group nodded to his companions to have them note the situation. All fifty elves in Lemen's command placed their hands on their swords with such a smooth and fluid motion that anyone looking at the elven group thought that the elve's hands were always in that position.  
"Lord Hassuel, what are you doing here?"asked the gaurd.  
"I have come with an errand of the greatest importance, where is the king?"replied Hassuel with a question of his own.  
The gaurd nodded at the elves behind the marshal and added a short and faint smile behind it. Hassuel saw the interest that this gaurd saw in his companions. Hassuel turned and looked at the surrounding men in the city and saw also their faces.  
"What have you brought us my Lord?"asked the gaurd loosely.  
"Listen to me dog, I don't know what you and your men do in your off- duty time but, here is not the time. These elves are under my protection and if I find that any one of them has been harrassed in any way, I will have that person killed and hung for public display!"said Hassuel vehemently as the mashal's gave penetrated into the very heart of the gaurd and filled him with a certain fear. The gaird had no doubt that the marshal would enforce his decree but, he still looked at the elves with an eerie look. "My Lord, the king is not here;ahh, we do not know where he is?said the gaurd recognizing his place. "What? When did the king leave...disappear...hurry and tell me!" said Hassuel with and unpleasant tone. "Hassuel, your king is missing, this is most unfortunate."stated Lemen with a concerned expression. Hassuel beckoned to Lemen to join him in conversation with the gaurd.  
"When did the king dissapear?"asked the elven lord.  
"Some two days ago,eh, my Lord."said the gaurd with a little disgust.  
"And who is in command of the city?asked the marshal.  
"Well sir, all the marshals are gone and there are no captains placed in the city, so as cheif of the king's gaurd, I have taken command."the gaurd said with a hint of whimpering in his voice.  
"Out of my way dog, I will take command until the king is returned. Come Lemen and bring your troops with you."Hassuel said this as he brushed past the gaurd and nearly knocked him to the ground with his powerful shove. In Meduseld, Hassuel brought out maps and had food brought to his companions. Lemen showed the marshal where the legion of orcs had ambushed them and where they would probally be now. "Now the king is missing and I have to act in his stead. Thesulah will want to know the situation, so I have sent messengers to his said location and now to Gondor." "Hassuel, Gondor can be saved if we had suddicient troops to march with. Since you have command, I have no doubt you will recall some of your army from Helms Deep to assist me in my task. You will stay here of course to search for the king."Lemen stated. Hassuel nodded in agreement and rested in his chair, wiping his face of fatigue and drowsiness. Then suddenly, while the two lords were thinking, the front doors of the king's hall swung open to reveal several armed men standing in the doorway with weapons drawn angry faces fixed on the marshal and his elven consorts. Instinctively Hassuel drew his in sword and stared at the new men with a wonderous expression. Lemen-ere was quickly at his side and the elven warriors present in the halls were with the rwo lords with their weapons drawn as well. Then the men charged at Hassuel and the elves with intent of death in their eyes. The attackers continued to pour in the hall as the defenders had little time to organize their ranks. Hassuel and Lemen fought side by side as the elven warriors beat off attack after attack. After fifteen minutes of fierce hand to hand combat, Hassuel and his elven comrads stood victorious with only four or five casualties sufered to them. Hassuel cleaned his blade and wiped the sweat from his brow as he stomped out of the halls into the open air to survey the city. The streets were empty, not a person walked the streets. Only the horses in the stables marked that the city was little more than a ghost town.  
Hassuel turned and saw the lord from Rivendel at his side, staring in awe amazement.  
"The people, they are all gone!"saidd the two lords.  
  
Pattilla was fast approaching the western lands of Rhovanion. Its was about midday when the third marshal of the mark set foot into the camp of the cheif marshal. Thesulah was told by his scouts that hie reinforcements were comming. In the camp, men where now preparing to march to a new position, that they might better defend against the enemy.  
"Welcome Pattilla, where is lord Hassuel?"asked the cheif marshal.  
"My Lord, there has been a situation. When Hassuel and myself were preparing to leave, a squad of elves marched into the village we were stationed in and told us of am impending danger."  
Thesulah tilted his head in confussion.  
"The elf lord in charge of the elven band told us that Gondor was in trouble and required assistance. At first, Gondor only needed the elf lord to arrive in that kingdom to display the standard of Elrond in the army of the king but, that is no longer the case. A entire legion of orcs and easterlings ambushed the elves and deterred them from the march to Gondor. The elves then turned to the village we were in and asked for assistance. Hassuel gave me command of his troops and took the elves to Meduseld."finished Pattilla.  
Thesulah squinted his eyes a little and seemed a little disgusted about the current change in events.  
"Thank you Pattilla for this information. Now we are prepparing to march out, see to it that all the companies are ready."  
Hassuel nodded and left his commander. Thesulah gripped his hand tight and walked toward his tent with a quickened pace, mumbling something as he went. Once inside, he sat down and grabbed a small box which he at once opened and pulled the veil from its cover. Inside was a Palantir and it glowed with awesome power but, the dark colors and many layers of fabric sheilded the glow from any outside who could see. Thesulah gripped the orb and began to sweat violently. Moments later, the cheif marshal put the orb back into it's box and stood to shake of the mystic energy. Then, a very determined look came over his face that had a slight hint of evil in it!  
"Hassuel will not intefere with my plans, not after this long. I will have him killed!"said the cheif marshal with a very menacing expression.  
  
That was four days before Hassuel and his escort reached Edoras and they had not yet entered the halls of the king. It had appeared strange that a gaurd was in command of the city in which the king lived but, Hassuel and Lemen did not have all of the peices to the puzzle yet. Now Hassuel was aware that something was really going on, and ordered Lemen to have his elves search the city in three's to see if any citizens still remained. Hassuel and Lemen went to the store houses and brought to the halls enough provisions to satisfy a kings feast for many days. Once all of the search parties checked in to Hassuel and Lemen, the gates to the city were secured and a watch was set around the surround. "No sense in letting more enemy's enter the city with out us knowing. This is very strange though and I can't figure anything out. I was able to get a messenger to Forlorf and he should have recieved it ere yesterday night. With any luck, he would have gathered an eored by now and it should be on route here."said Hassuel with tiring breathes. "Hassuel, I think now would be a good time for me to send a message to Elrond or to a elven patrol ar least. The situation we are in is very dangerous and I have lost five good elves in defense of our lives here in this city. If any more blood is to be spilled, I would have it be on the side of the King of Gondor."finished the elf. Hassuel nodded in agreement and indicated to his new friend that they should return to the kings halls.  
  
Pattilla was at the head of the column of riders, in the van with Thesulah. Wild drums could be heard coming from the plains over the hill they were approaching. Thesulah stopped the eoreds and had scouts to advance so they could report what was going on. "Pattilla, lets wait here until the report comes in. Now tell me lord, what exactly did the elves that came to you look like. Did they wear noble clothing or were they woodsmen-elves?" asked Thesulah. "They were nobely dressed my Lord, why do you ask? "Oh its nothing, just want to know what kind of people I am dealing with..."Thesulah said trailing off into an oblivious stare at the ground. Pattilla looked at his commander with an odd expression on his face, never before seeing anyone with a face like that. "Sir,"came the voice of the scout which was sent out and had come back without either of the marshals hearing the return,"the enemy barbarians are just under the hill, the army massed there is incredible, I have never seen the like. And also my Lords, there is a standard in the barbarian army which I have never seen before, its appears to be some eastern symbol!"finished the scout. Suddenly, the wild crys form under the hill were heard comming closer and then Pattilla shock his commander out of the trance. Pattilla ordered the eoreds to draw there weapons and the companys to be organized. The mounted archers had arrows on the string and were aiming at the area that the enemy would approach. Then the arrows started to fly as the barbarians marched over the hill to approach the Rohirrim. Pattilla moved the riders in his eored to the front of the column and formed a sort-of formation with spears pointed forward. Pattilla moved his horse infront of Thesulah and looked at him with dissaproving eyes and took command of the chief marshal's eored as well. Thesulah was now aware of the situation and moved toward Pattilla, who was already commanding his charge. Thesulah charged to the front of his own eored and assumed command, just as Pattilla's phalanx was driving the spears into the front ranks of the barbarians.  
The enemy horde continued to come up the hill until there was no more room on the plain. The barbarians; dressed in short black tunics with leather straps holding the poaches at their sides, the charge of the barbarians was ferosious. Even as the riders of Rohan drove their spears into the enemy, the barbarians behind the ones that fell, pulled the riders carrying the spears and once the rider would fall, the barbarian would hew the head off and use it as a projectile to hit another rider. Pattilla's phalanx was working though, for the most part however, the enemy seemed limitless and right flank, which Thesulah was commanding was faltering and his line broke time after time but, was succoured by the knights in his gaurd that took up a position when a regular rider fell. "Damn, the right side is breaking!"said Pattilla as he tried ro race to Thesulah, who had not been able to push the advance in the right.  
As Pattilla galloped to his commander, he was cut off by heavily armored soldiers that carried the new standard which was thought to come from the east, Pattilla could not pass.  
  
The gates opened and five elven riders left Edoras to seek out an elven patrol or if the could, find a weak point in the enemy legion's army. With out the new eored from Helms Deep, all Hassuel could do was to sit and wait in the comfort of the kings hall as he contiued to ponder the whereabouts of the king. Hassuel stood next to the throne and rubbed his hands against the hard wood of the king's chair when Lemen approached him. "Hassuel come quickly!"said the elf lord. "What is it friend?"asked the marshall. Hassuel followed Lemen to the outskirts of the city to the road where three elves were already standing. Hassuel came close to one of the mounds and looked at a husky, half bent figure laying next to the door of the Mound of Dead Kings. The face lifted and Hassuel saw the eyes and immediately new who the person was whom he was looking at.  
"Sire, what has happened?" asked the marshal.  
"Hassuel, is that you?" asked the tired and fatigued king."We must leave here at once, a most terrible thing has happened!"  
"What is it my Lord, quickly, tell me sire!"stated the marshal violently.  
"He has come, those eyes!"replied the king with a shaking voice.  
"Who has come King Fengel?"asked Lemen-ere.  
"Sauron!"replied the king.  
Hassuel looked at Lemen and for the first time, the marshal could see an emotion in the elf lord's face. He was troubled. 


End file.
